Mathematical-tools

The book presents the techniques of applying mathematics with a true engineering flavor. It is written in a fairly simple and understandable manner. The book should be ideal for first year graduate students of engineering.

Too many code errors and very little help on how to correct them. The theory behind the code is extremely sketchy. Hence, the main reason to buy this book would be the included diskette containing the mathematical algorithms, but those too are erroneous. Suggest writing routines for oneself rather than investing in this book.

Exactly the algorithms I need and wanted. Unfortunately, the VB forms were shipped in binary form and can not be used with VB 6, which is what I have. What a bummer to have the code, but be unable to use it.

Before using algorithms one should check code first. Otherwise pretty nice solutions. Recommendable for reading.

"Land Development Calculations" provides an excellent and innovative strategy for working towards sustainable land use and development. The models for varying land development strategies can assist local government land use decision makers and planners as well as developers determine the carrying capacity of land within realistic thresholds. The accompanying spreadsheets for the development scenarios on the CD-ROM are extremely user friendly and do not place an undue burden on the user by requiring what may be hard to find or to collect data. All of the data required just is typical of what is necessary to make appropriate land development decisions. As a local government planner, I am working towards incorporating the information received from the models in to the zoning and development code as part of the approval process by using it to further assess suitability of the property for the purposes proposed (a zoning consideration required in accordance with the State of Georgia Zoning Procedures Act). I strongly encourage other land planners and developers to read "Land Development Calculations," because of its highly practical and very timely material.

This is a terrificaly valuable technical reference for practitioners who need an efficient method of performing land development calulations. The book and its companion set of spreadsheets enable users to answer two key questions: 1) how much can be built on a given piece of land; or 2) how much land is needed to accommodate a given use? The material is clearly written and well illustrated, especially a series of worksheets leading through the method. Another strength is its comprehensiveness and detail, including all major land-use and micro site conditions.

This is a very good book for those who are familiar with valuation but want to delve deeper. The great thing about this book is that it is modular i.e. one can jump between chapters without loss of continuity.

It has a very practical treatment of real options which is to say that it helps you think about certain valuation situations in an Options framework rather than getting bogged down with the mathematics of the situation. It has a lot of worked examples and of particular interest are valuation examples relating to off-beat assets like a NYC Taxi Medallion! A decent treatment of valuation of real estate, professional practices (lawyers, doctors) etc. is also provided.

For those who like to think about conceptual issues, there is a very good treatment of estimation of betas, international cost of capital and other similar matters.

The only thing preventing me from giving this book 5 stars is a not-too-detailed treatment of the Market Approach and particularly adjustment of market multiples to reflect subject company parameters. Otherwise, a great book and definitely a must-have.

I have just purchased this book after reading customer reviews. I just want to thank for these people in my making decision to buy this book. Although not finished yet, it is excellent..

For investors subscribed to discounted cash flows valuation (DCF), there is no other books that offer the kind of in-depth anlaysis (both in step-by-step description and available scenarios using real companies) like this book does. Plus, Professor Damodaran maintains a free website where Excel-based valuation models and industry data are periodically updated. These features make the book invaluable. In short, if I am allowed to buy only one investment book, this is the one.

But since I can buy as many books as I want, it would be more important to tell what this book does not do. First, it's always important to get a second opinion. In this case, it would be something other than DCF. Currently, DCF and relative valuation (such as PE and PV) are the dominent valuation methods used in the U.S. And yes, they are both covered in-depth by this book, in addition to the Economic Value Addded method which is gaining momentum in recent years. But this book essentially dismisses the income statements in favor of cash flows statements for valuing securities, preferring DCF to relative valuation. This is certainly understandable in lights of recent manipulation of GAAP income by offenders like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. But I believe it's important for investors to hear the voice for income statements valuation method. For that investors should get James English's Applied Equity Analysis - another must-have - as a second valuation reference book. Secondly, this book uses CAPM model for finding the discount rate. Again, it is true that CAPM is the most widely used model in the U.S., but I came to a conclusion, after reading close to a hundred critically acclaimed articles published in the last fifty years as part of my MBA requirements, that factor models provide better tracking of stock prices than CAPM does. Unfortunately, there is no good book available. For institutional investors, they can have models from BARRA and Wilshire, etc, but individual investors would have to construct their own, probably (like me) using the Fama-French three-factor model. Description of their model is available mostly from theirs and other published papers. Data are available from Kenneth French's own website at Dartmouth. Now since you read all the way through my review, here is your reward: go to Damodaran's website and download the manuscript of this book for free if you are really frugal.

Good work, if only it was reliable... In a discipline where accuracy is so important, I am amazed it has been selling so well for so long. The book has plenty of formulae mistakes that make its reading and comprehension really difficult and painfully time-consuming as you need to go through correcting all those errors and read the chapters again and again. Still, even after such an arduous work, you end up not being 100% sure that what you have learnt is correct. Wiley should long ago have retired this edition from circulation and then market a new, thoroughly corrected one. Of course, those (many) unlucky readers who have bought this terrible (paperback) edition should receive a new one for free as soon as it is available. I feel I have been cheated!

I'm a CEO of a high-growth tech company and former Goldman Sach banker. I've earned a JD and MBA from NYU. I've read countless books on valuation.

I believe that this book offers one of the most flexible approaches to valuing assets that I have yet encountered. Its primary objective is guiding the reader in valuing any asset, from an option on a company that manufactures high-tech drilling equipment to a neighborhood lemonade stand. It is intentionally simple, but simplistic. And that is why it is so valuable.

... This book teaches bare bones valuation... the bread and butter of valuation. Actually, it covers all the topics ...[giving] the same cursory attention that venture capitalist and investment bankers do... that is to say, that they deserve.

One note of caution, you should have a good understanding of discounted cash flow analysis to understant this book. I would recommend Essentials of Investing, which is a text book, but a good one.

An outstanding book from the high-priest of valuation. Covers all major techniques and applications. However, not all that suitable for beginners or as an introductory text since some of the (slightly advanced) material is presented in a fairly condensed manner. Readers with a little experience in the area or students who have taken at least one finance course and understand the fundamentals of financial economics should find this book extremely useful, though. Great as a reference guide, too.